Fruit-basket.



N. E. MARSHBURN. FRUIT BASKET.

APPLIUAVTION FILED DBC. 24, 1908. 976,668. Patented 10122, 1910.

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N. E. MARSHBURN.

FRUIT BASKET.

APPLIOATION FILED 1330.24, 190s.

976,668. Patented N0v.22,.191`0.

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THE Nonms PETERS co.. wAsHlNnroN, n. c.

NICHOLAS E. MARSI-IBURN, 0F LAGRANGE, GEORGIA.

FRUIT-BASKET.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 22, 1910.

Application filed December 24, 1908. Serial No. 469,077.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, NICHOLAS E. MARSH- BURN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Lagrange, in the county of Troup and State ofGeorgia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inFruit-Baskets, of which the following is a specification, referencebeing had therein to the accompanying drawing.

My invention relates to receptacles for gathering and shippingperishable products and especially to fruit baskets.

It has for its object the production of a receptacle of this class whichmay be filled in the orchard and shipped without transferring the fruit.In order to attain this object, certain requirements must be satisfiedas follows: (l) the receptacle must be easily carried by the pickers;(2) it must be so constructed as not to bruise the fruit either inreceiving it or by pressure when lled; (3) it must be simple and strongenough in its construction to withstand hard usage in the field; (4:) itmust be rigid enough to stand up without eXertin any bruising pressureupon the contents; 5) it must be easily stacked up or stowed away inordinary transportation vehicles. Other subsidiary requirements willappear hereinafter together with the means for satisfying them.

Brieiy stated, my invention comprises a rigid frame consisting ofl twosubstantially U-shaped members set cross-wise with their ends up, andfastened together at the crossing. Upon the upper ends a ring issecured, and across two of the perpendicular members a horizontal braceis fastened. Inside the cage thus formed a canvas bag is suspended,which swings loosely away from the frame, and is attached to the topring by means of an inner or retaining ring around which the canvas iswrapped. Vertically in line with the horizontal brace, the top ring andits companion are indented to form a hip curve, and spaced approximately90 away from this on both sides are staples for a supporting strap and abail. rIhis construction meets the foregoing requirements as follows:

(l.) The rigid frame with the hip curve and shoulder strap iscomfortable and very easily carried, the weight of the contents beingkept entirely away from the person by the frame, the horizontal bracereferred to with a narrow bottom. The method of securing the bag to thetop rings, with the flaps turned over the same, leaves a canvas surfaceonly exposed, which may be padded if desired, and even without paddingwill not readily bruise the fruit which may accidentally strike it.

(3.) The frames are preferably riveted together, and their design aswell as the method of securing the bags within them protects the latter,while it enables the former to withstand considerable strains, such asthe weight of other baskets when piled up, the weight of persons sittingupon them, etc.

(4.) It will be obvious that since my bag swings clear within the frame,the latter takes all the weight .when set upon the ground.

(5.) The shape of the frame is adaptable for piling up in stacks,without bringing any pressure on the contents, all superposed weightbeing of course carried by the frames beneath. The open sides of theframe also render it particularly adaptable to hooks, racks, or otherforms of support in the refrigerator and freight cars. It can be stoodupon a shelf or suspended beneath the same.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of the frame of a fruit basket, with theother parts removed. Fig. 2 is a similar perspective view of a completebasket, one flap of the bag being turned up and a portion of the canvasbroken away to show the arrangement of the top rings. Fig. 3 is a planview of the canvas or duck form for the bag, prior to stitching. Figs. tand 5 are sectional details of the top rings, showing two methods ofriveting the same.

Referring to the drawings, and especially to Fig. l, l indicates a ringof iron or wood, having an indented portion 2 forming the hip curveheretofore mentioned. A pair of U-shaped members 3 and 4 are set atrighti angles to each other and their upper ends riveted to this ring,as indica-ted at 10, 11, 12 and 13. The cross pieces` of these members,3a and 4L are also riveted as indicated at 8. vertically beneath the hipcurve2 of the top ring, and parallel to the chord of its are, is a rigidbrace 5 having itsends secured fupon the contiguous parallel limbs 'ofthe frame pieces 3 and 4. Fitted within `the ring 1 is a companion ring9 which reup. The bag as a whole is indicated by the numeral 14, and itsconstruction will be readilyunderstood from the diagram in Fig. 3. Thisshows a blank cut out from canvas or duck in the shape of a rather openMaltese cross.V The center portion 14a forms the bottom of the basket,being substantially square las shown. The four wings 14h, c, and e, areall turned up to form the body, and stitched together as indicated bythe dotted lines. 14?, g h and 1 indicate the flaps, whose edges 141',and k may be cut away or not, as required in tting them to the rings.One

seam is indicated at 14k in Fig. 2, the bottom ofthe bag being indicatedby dotted lines in the same figure. This bottom may be reinforced orstiffened by strips or sheets of wood or metal if desired. s

Figs. g2 and A4 show the flaps of the bag carried up over the inner faceof the inner ring V9, then down between the rings, then up over theouter ring, and soover both rings and down the inside, rivets being inlY serted through and through, at intervals all varound the top'.A VItwill be understood that in assembling the basket, the canvas is firstlooped over the inner 'rind all around, and this ring is then introducedinto the top ring of theframe from underneath, yor to put it anotherway, the top ring is forced down upon it, clamping the canvas betweenthem. The iiaps being turned over, every point and edge of the ironorwood is covered and protected, and in order to render this jrotectionmore efiicient, I may insert if esired padding beneath the canvas andover the rings. For example, a cotton vor hemp gasket may be laid on theupper face of the rings before the flap 14f is turned over. Even withoutthis however, the canvas surface is little likely to produce injuriousbruises on fruit which may touch it in entering the bag. The onlyeXposedmetal is in the heads of the rivets, and by the construction ofFig. 5 even this is protected. Here the flaps are turned over lthe innerring as before, then the outer ring is forced down upon them, and thenthe two rings are riv eted together, the rivets passing through only thesingle thickness of canvas between the rings, and being preferablycountersunk into both rings as shown. After riveting, the fiaps areturned up and over, and stitched down on the inside as indicated at 145.The importance of thus covering the frame, and of keeping the bag clearof its vertical menibers, as well as the body of the picker, is veryconsiderable, and will be well understood from the statement that asingle bruise, due to a chance blow or accidental pressure, willinevitably spoil an entire basket of fruit after a short time. I havetherefore studied in the design of this basket to avoid all chances ofbruising the fruit, so far as it is possible to do so with human pickersand freight handlers.

The top ring of the basket is provided with staples 6 and 7 to receivethe eyes of the bail 15 and the snap hooks 16 of the shoulder strap 17.In picking, the curved portion 2 of the ring 1 is adjusted tothe hip ofthe picker, the brace 5 rests against the outer side of his leg belowthe hip, and the strap 17 passes diagonally across his body with itssliding brace 18 on the shoulder. The bags are usually made in suchsizes that a half bushel or a bushel of fruit will fill them to withinsay one and one-half inches of the top of the ring 1. This permitspiling up of the baskets without touching the fruit. When filled in thefield, the picker disconnects the snap hooks 1G from the full basket,which he sets down, and takes up an empty basket in its place. Furtherhandling of the full basket is by means of the bail 15, or of the framemembers l, 3, 4 and 6.

A number of changes may be made in matters of detail described andillustrated herein, without departing from the spirit of this invention.For example, the bag may be made of rubber, leather or other materialsinstead of duck, and the frame may be made of wood instead of iron. Iwish it clearly understood that I contemplate all such nonessentialchanges as fall fairly within the scope and purview of the appendedclaim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patenty of the United States, is:

A fruit basket comprising the following elements: a rigid frame having atop ring with a hip curve and a pair of crossed inver'ted U-shapedmembers forming a stand with their free ends riveted to the top ring atpoints approximately 90 apart, two of these points being at oppositeends of the hip curve, a horizontal leg guard secured across the twolimbs below and parallel to the limiting chord of the hip curve,carrying means secured to the top ring, and a exible bag suspendedwithin the frame from the top ring, and formed of a blank shapedapproximeteiy like an o en Maitese cross by turning up the arms ot thecross to form an edge of the same aggregate length as the top ring, anda substantially square bottom of smaller dimensions than the top;whereby the bag will swing free from the frame and will furnish enextended base for the fruit contained within it7 thus avoiding bruisingby Contact with the frame or with the person ofthe picker or byconcentration of pressure 10 upon the bottom fruit, substantially asde-A scribed.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

NICHOLAS E. MARSHBURN. Vitnesses A. T. I-IAYNES, T. MORGAN.

